QUIT IF YOU ARE ADVERTISING

3 social media that beat Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Social media is overrated.

I am not against it, but we often underestimate the power of Guerrilla Marketing in the realm of online marketing.

Might it be a luxury brand or a Marketer who is trying to grow his blog..

Most of the time we put our efforts into growing our social media accounts for incorrect reasons —

For the sake of doing it.

Because everybody else is doing it.

Gratification in the number of followers

News and positive scenarios painted about famous social media (Most of the time to sell “How to Social Media Courses)

For flaunting a lifestyle which no one cares about.

It is natural.

I would want to post a picture in a Burberry trench coat.

That is opulence\’s purpose: to reaffirm the status and position in society.

While posting your blog, business and offers on social media can be a good exercise.

But is it a good decision to entirely focus on the “Famous/Top” Social media?

OR to advertise on it? — We as a human race have become Ad blind and deaf.

Rules are made to be broken and ads are made to be skipped.

If so, is it done to benefit your product or for a vanity affair?

The Internet is vast there is a world that exists beyond Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

What if I tell you that there is a way where you can harness your creativity and imagination?

To reach the mass and have them come searching for you.

It was done with guerrilla marketing before the Internet.

In the online realm, the aspect remains the same — Creative content.

Creative Content

Before going to the sites, let\’s have a look at what kind of content you will need to do guerrilla marketing online.

Now the first urge would be to post a viral video, which is not bad at all.

But it lacks the brand message and communication.

An ideal way to go about it is with original content.

This is the very reason creative people can harness the power of online guerrilla marketing.

Original content can be stamped with your name. Proudly.

Some ideas could be, but not limited to —

• Quotes
• Comics
• Visual blogs (blogging with collages and text)
• An interactive website — examples
• Data-driven visualisations — examples

IMGUR — 9GAG — REDDIT

I am fond of these three sites when it comes to promoting creative projects.

They have a reputation for being shallow, but you will understand the power of these sites once you get involved.

But there is an underestimated value that their “Communities” offer.

Families are communities and communities are family — Communities are sensitive.

This sensitivity is the very reason why a viral video can reach thousands not millions of views in a day.

I have been using them for more than a year now.

If you are willing to see how I look forward to experimenting with these platforms gather here —

• Imgur
• 9Gag
• Reddit

There are certain unsaid rules to each of these communities, and all three of them will reject any attempt to direct advertising, promotional and marketing content.

Let\’s take a look at each of them, I will also add some tips along the way.

Imgur

Imgur was found to easily share videos and images on Reddit.

But it has grown into its own community now.

Thumb rules to follow on Imgur are —

• Do not over-post
• Do not put any links and CTA in the posts
• Have a theme and you will be successful — I have seen a lady posting a pic of her dog every day. Comic artists post one panel a day.
• No quotes and corporate stuff. They don’t do well on the site.
• Some pressing issues and voices that need to be heard also do well on Imgur. This may include and is not limited to news.

9Gag

• Pretty much the same as Imgur
• Most viral videos are discovered on 9gag

Reddit

This is the most important site of the three of all.

With Imgur and 9Gag you can add visual elements to your post, but Reddit offers more than that.

On Reddit — text, video and images have the same probability of going “viral”.

I love to use this site and spend a lot of time posting on it during the breaks.

I love to see how a post gets upvoted.

There are funny and sometimes creative comments on them.

The best thing about Reddit is that you can have different communities for different purposes.

You can garner an audience that has specific interests, like space, creativity or a cat.

My favourite one is bread stapled on the tree.

People post photos of bread stapled on the tree from various countries and regions.

The subreddit has got international recognition across news outlets.

To be on Reddit you should be familiar with reddiquettes.

Here are the points that will help you in the journey on Reddit —

• Familiarise yourself with the platform before making any post. Visit different subreddits, join some, and actively participate in the comments. Do this for at least the first two weeks on the site. This major is taken to keep spammers at bay by Reddit.
• From the third week, post in the community that doesn’t need any Karma, like r/Quotes. Do not do any promotion yet. All posts you make should be anything else than your own business.
• Every community has a Karma requirement which you will find on the right side or sometimes hidden from the spammers.
• But once you have like 500 karma you can start posting about your creative projects.
• To be a healthy Reddit member use a 9:1 ratio. Out of 10 posts, one should be a promotion (link/post) and 9 should be your participation in the community.

I guess this is enough to start with.

I am going to post a separate article about Reddit tomorrow, be sure to follow. It comes from my experience of using the platform for over a year and reading a lot from some of the most successful Redditors.

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The online guerrilla marketing techniques will save a lot of ad money and help your brand stand out, and your message have a longer shelf life.

It is inbound marketing.

People come searching for you.

Isn’t this good for SEO?

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